Hacker News Reader

Isn't it the case that you can throw a rock anywhere in Italy (and Europe in general) and find some priceless historical artifact?

While true in many places, bronze specifically corrodes over time when exposed to air.

It’s likely that bronzes were melted down, not that they corroded away.

Maybe a bit of an overstatement, but it does make digging up streets in Rome a bit of a fraught affair from what I've read.